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tv   [untitled]    October 9, 2012 5:30am-6:00am PDT

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many of our builders. some incentives that they want to see in place for incentivizing development. one of those pieces is the one that is before us today which is to exclude buildings, that are between five to nine units from contributing to i did have many concerns along with many of our colleagues about the importance of the contributions from small builders. seeing the data and also hearing also from small
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builders of the challenges of building in san francisco i concluded that this is good legislation >> item 19. >> experiencing technical difficulties; please stand by * for support. this motion is approved. >> part of the effort to continue to prevent wage theft in san francisco. the launch, i think marks the very first time that any local government has gone >> technical difficulties; please stand by
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>> and was instrumental in the creation of proposition 8 against gay marriage and has made comments that catholic practitioners from the queer community abstein from holy community. recently the same persona apologized for his arrested on suspicion of drunk driving, behavior that he thought brought shame and disgrace on himself and the church. i wish he would issue a similar apology to the queer community. many in our community take years to accept their identity and sometimes longer still to return to their faith. these words are lacking in compassion and in many ways seem to defy the very basic principles of the new testament, values that include love, acceptance, tolerance and understanding. >> thank you, supervisor olague. supervisor campos. >> thank you very much, madam clerk.
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i just want to add my 2 cents to the statement by supervisor olague. we welcome the new archbishop to the city and county of san francisco. i believe that he officially takes office on thursday of this week. you know, san francisco has always been a very welcoming place and it is in that spirit that we extend an invitation to the archbishop to work with every member of the catholic community in the city and county of san francisco, including many of us who have been raised catholic and are practicing catholic, but who happen to be lgbt. it is my hope that as he takes over his very important position in the city and county of san francisco that he will be someone who will embrace the entirety of the catholic community, and that means many in the lgbt community. and i think that it's really
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about the emphasis and the hope is that we can focus on things where there is common ground. i appreciate and respect the work that he has done on behalf of the poor, on behalf of many immigrants including undocumented people. and it is my hope that in that same spirit that we can work on ways in which we can find some common ground instead of some of the divisive statements that have come out. not only the statement denouncing same sex marriage, but the idea that as an openly gay man or a member of the lgbt community, you're somehow precluded from communion. i think that's the kind of approach that brings people together, which as a catholic and as someone who believes in the teachings of christianity, i think christianity is ultimately about compassion and acceptance and respect for every individual.
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so, it is in that hope and in that spirit that we welcome him to san francisco and hope that we can forge a different relationship between him and the lgbt community, the rest i submit. >> thank you, supervisor campos. supervisor avalos. >> thank you, madam clerk. colleagues, i don't have any items for introduction, but a couple comments i wanted to make. one is that on my personal facebook page there is a call out for questions for question time, questions to ask the mayor for next week. we have questions that are due 12:00 noon tomorrow and i'm actually doing something a little different, trying to call out to the public, people in my district and beyond my district for people who want to actually submit questions to me to submit to the mayor. the one thing i think i can do in terms of trying to make question time a little more exciting, because the way we have it set upright now it's a little bit constrained. so, hopefully we'll have, you know, some fun questions come up for next week and that's on
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my facebook page which people might be able to access fairly easily. the other thing is i don't have an item for introduction on there, but i want to indicate that i want to work with colleagues on the issue of how our current economic boom is affecting neighborhoods and affecting small businesses in san francisco. there was a really interesting discussion on michael's forum last tuesday, david talbot who has an article in the magazine, season of the witch, talking about whether we're a city of enlightenment or a city of applications or apps. i think where we have great business boom that's happening right now in the city, we're seeing the impacts of that are dramatic. i just got a call last night from my neighborhood video store, actually supervisor campos' neighborhood store, four star video which is
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closing its store, can no longer afford to pay the rent for the cost of doing business in san francisco and it's actually a pretty well used video store. i go in there all the time. it's always full of people. i heard iron rock is having their rent increase by about $10,000 i don't know if that's a year or a month. that is a significant amount of monday i. another business on valencia street, a great neighborhood serving business, 7 80 cafe is actually having their rent raised $5,000. i believe that could be a month or a year. we're seeing major, major changes that are affecting businesses that are established by san franciscans struggling in the city. we owe it to ourselves to figure out how we're going to be able to maintain the great diversity we have in san francisco and how we can make sure that our economic system that we have here can lift all boats, not just a few. and i know i just talked with supervisor campos. he's interested in working on a hearing in that regard and i'm interested in working with him on that.
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but i think we really have to be cognizant of the city and the county and the government how we can make sure we're spreading the wealth to areas that really need it in san francisco. that's my other comment. thanks. >> thank you, supervisor avalos. supervisor mar. >> thank you. colleagues, today i'm introducing a resolution calling on the board to support proposition 30 and 38 on the state ballot. the state has clearly failed to adequately fund our schools. the lack of funding at the state level has led -- and de funding over the past few years has led to tare plenty did you say reduction in class or increases in class sizes, laying off of our dedicated teachers and staff, and hurting of opportunities for higher education and better jobs for many other young people. these two ballot measures, the so-called governor's revenue measure 30 and the mollie monger prop 38 supported by the california pta and san
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francisco based president carol of the pta. these two ballots will do wonders to help prevent cuts and restore todayctionving we lost and make sure the wealthiest pay their fair share for the state and our schools. also i'm working with the city attorney and the commission on the status to drop the new workplace domestic violence policy to help our city workers connect to better resources and the rest i'll submit. thank you. >> thank you, smart mar. president chiu. >> thank you. colleagues, i have a number of in memoriams today. first and foremost, i have a memoriam for [speaker not understood] who was a family man, came to san francisco from jordan and started a small corner store on polk street. he's someone that our neighborhood and our residents on polk street knew, had an enormous heart and great smile. ready to help those in need and someone who was very much a part of a wonderful and loving family and community.
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and all the best to his family. and i also have an in memoriam for bob [speaker not understood] who some of you may know, was a first generation san francisco an who married and raised four children here including community leader sam ladder. after graduating from u.c. berkeley and hastings law school, bob joined a family firm and became active in numerous civic organizations, particularly within the jewish community as well as on our san francisco human rights commission. he also had a love of politics and successfully ran the mccarthy campaign for the board of supervisors. and i know that he will be missed dearly by the community and his family. my third in memoriam is for gary cray who is known by many in the telegraph hill community, my district, as the filbert steps gardner. gary tended to the gardens of the filbert steps, which is one of our city's great hidden
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treasures for more than three decades. and he took care of the sprawling garden as a volunteer. it was truly a labor of love for him and he was never paid a dime for t. he worked his hearts -- poured his heart into his work to create a clean, green and serene space that many in my neighborhood and throughout the city have grown to love and appreciate. in addition to caring for gardens, he was also someone who was dedicated to our city's architectural heritage and was a co-founder of san francisco victorian a which is a designer and manufacturer of victorian ornamentation. the entire telegraph hill community and many people in san francisco will miss him. i'm also introducing today, colleagues, a resolution to join 36 other cities in calling for our nation's environmental protection act agency and the obama administration to use the clean air act to make meaningful rapid cuts in greenhouse gas pollution. in the state of california, los
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angeles, berkeley, sanity monica, oxnard, santa cruz and richmond have joined three dozen cities around the country in asking for enforcement in this area. given our leadership in the area of environment, i thought it would be appropriate for us to join those cities as well. the rest of my items i will submit. >> thank you, mr. president. supervisor wiener. >> thank you, madam clerk. first i want to associate myself with supervisor campos' remarks relating to the new archbishop. i think it's important that we acknowledge some of the problematic things that have happened in terms of hurtful stances and positions towards the lgbt community while also looking forward, and i do hope that as a community we'll be able to work with the archbishop and with the church to improve our city and make it a great place for the lgbt community as well as other communities. in addition, colleagues, today
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i am introducing legislation that for a long time i did not -- i was hoping that i would never have to introduce, but unfortunately we've reached a point where it is necessary, and that is specifically an amendment to our police code to prohibit public nudity in our public spaces in san francisco. currently san francisco law prohibits public nudity and it has for several decades in our parks and in our port property. however, there is no restriction on public nudity anywhere else. nor does state law prohibit the simple fact of being nude in public. there has been a significant increase over the last several years of the public nudity in the castro whereas it used to be there would be occasional sporadic public nudity that frankly no one cared about. in the last few years we have seen basically an ad hoc nudist colony form almost every afternoon at jane warner plaza
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at castro and market. and a general increase in public nudity throughout the neighborhood. the neighborhood has had a general tolerance for public nudity over the years, but this has gone well beyond what is acceptable or appropriate for the neighborhood. many of us thought that this situation would resolve itself over time and for the last two years there have been quite a few people who have been pushing me to introduce this legislation. and i have resisted for a long time. i got kicked around about a year ago in the chronicle for not doing it. but it has not resolved itself and, instead, it's gotten more extreme. and i know that the press has reported on that. and, in fact, it's gotten so extreme that public opinion in the neighborhood has shifted on the subject. this jane warner plaza is the only usable public plaza in the castro. it is our town square.
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and it has become dominated just about every afternoon by one group. this is a mixed use diverse neighborhood with gay people and straight people, old and young, people of every single background. the spirit of the castro is its diversity and its vibrance. it is a draw to and acceptance of anyone. the castro is not about a group of men exposing themselves every day at castro and market and other parts of the neighborhood. i have received many, many expressions of concern by residents of the neighborhood and the surrounding areas, both gay and straight. in fact, mostly gay. businesses, visitors and others. other localities in california, including berkeley and san jose, prohibit public nudity. this would follow that
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approach. this legislation takes a very balanced approach recognizing that public nudity is okay in some contexts and not okay in others. the legislation would prohibit nudity on our streets, our sidewalks, our plazas, parks and public transportation. there would be a blanket exemption for street festivals, fairs and parades such as folsom street, [speaker not understood], et cetera. in addition, this would have no impact on our beaches which are under federal jurisdiction and no impact on private property. so, colleagues, i look forward to a dialogue in the coming months and the rest i submit. >> thank you, supervisor wiener. supervisor campos, you wanted to be re-referred. >> thank you. just very quickly wanted to add a couple of points. one, on the point that supervisor avalos raised, i want to thank him for raising that issue. it is definitely something that is impacting not only the whole
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city, but especially being felt in my district where there has been a lot of displacement as we welcome the very, you know, the increased economic activity as more people are coming in. and i'm glad to see that there is an interest in continuing to address this issue which has been an issue that we faced before. we actually have put together a working group with folks who are dealing with that issue of displacement not only in the residential level but the commercial level. i look forward, supervisor avalos, to working with you. and the second thing i was remiss for not stating or mentioning this earlier, we had a very unfortunate development on sunday when we heard that governor jerry brown evoke -- vetoed two very important pieces of legislation offered by tom ammiano.
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one allowed local jurisdictions to prevent this trend where you have in other parts of the country local police becoming arms of immigration. and it was a piece of legislation that ensures that the very limited law enforcement resources that jurisdictions such as san francisco have actually are focused on preventing violent crime, not being in the business of enforcing immigration law. it was very unfortunate that the governor vetoed that legislation. the other piece of legislation that was also very important that he also vetoed and one that impacts actually many people here in san francisco, especially many women, is the domestic workers bill of rights which for the first time would have accorded domestic workers in the state of california basic rights that are given to just about every worker. we have to remember that in the 1930s there was a decision made at the federal government that domestic workers would not be covered by some of the laws
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that protect, you know, the working conditions from all workers in the country. and, so, you still have a situation because of this veto where there are no protections that prevent an employer from requiring that a worker, you know, work 16, 24 hours without a break, that requires a worker to stay on the work site just in the event that the employer might need something without any pay. those are the kinds of things that this legislation was trying to prevent and it's unfortunate that the governor vetoed it. but i think it's also comforting that here in san francisco as that's happening at the state level, that we are moving in a direction of protecting workers and hopefully we will get to a point where the rest of the state will get to that point. the rest i submit. >> thank you, supervisor campos. and, mr. president, seeing no other names on the roster, that concludes roll call for
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introductions. >> madam clerk, why don't we go to general public comment. >> the next item on the agenda is the opportunity for the public to comment generally for up to two minutes on items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the board, including those items on the immediate adoption calendar. please note that public comment is not allowed on those items which have already been subject to public comment by a board committee. speakers using translation assistance will be allowed twice the amount of time to testify. and if a member of the public would like a document to be displayed on the overhead projector, please clearly state such and then remove the document when you would like the screen to return to live coverage of the meeting. >> thank you. let's hear from our first speaker. [speaker not understood].
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i am here today to ask each one of you about the [speaker not understood] you have, which i know that every one of you have courage, and you know what i mean. my city has 10 months with no sheriff. why? because the man that our mayor, he wanted him to be a sheriff, he don't do it.
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when the sheriff [speaker not understood] win, they look for only acquisition. i am here today to open my heart. who is the chief of police? someone? his own wife [speaker not understood] with gavin newsome. [speaker not understood]. we don't have any police officer to give the chief of police more than the friend of gavin newsome. he don't know anything about the [speaker not understood] of my country, of my city. [speaker not understood] the district attorney [speaker not understood]. i am here, challenge everyone. enough is enough. 10 months, my city doesn't have someone to control the jail.
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sheriff [speaker not understood], he deserves it [speaker not understood] sooner or later. shame on you. mr. mayor, i am here, challenge anyone include you because you go bad. and when you go bad, someone like me must tell you to stop and enough know what i mean and know what i mean for what i said, i don't like discrimination. i hate discrimination. take it or leave it. [speaker not understood]. good afternoon, supervisors, [speaker not understood] for the public library. don't accept money from the friends and foundation. and, of course, the answer is ask the mayor why he endorses official misconduct when it's among his appointees. it should be obvious right now
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the violation of ethical standards and accountability and the destruction of our public assets go together, private philanthropy, pedaling, [speaker not understood], harm the entire society. these things will always win. supreme court justice luis brandeis said sunshine is said to be the best disinfectant on how the bankers use money. published 1913. the problem, as true today as it was then, how is it possible to protect our democracy when money can buy influence and freedom from accountability? the ethics commission found the president of the commission guilty of official misconduct for his conduct below the standard of decency [speaker not understood], and demand she be removed. the mayor has made no response of any kind because money is on the side of the violator and the private fund-raiser calls the shot. this is a complete absence of morality and ethics of any
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kind. i assume you are familiar with a recording of [speaker not understood] posted on the library website. by now the name jewel gomez is a common noun to mean criminally and [speaker not understood] unethical. do you want your family members' names to be jewel gomez? i don't think so. it costs more than the money. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, good afternoon president chiu and supervisors.
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last sunday i did my special event -- special olympics event. i ran the bridge run. i think it's either the 33rd or 36th, i've lost track. i have graphics. here's our numbers. number one, again, and the picture bridge. at the end, the artist dominic drew me the lady on the shirt here. nice picture, dominic. so, moon city river, wider than a civic center mile i'm crossing you in style some day ♪ you dream maker you law makers wherever you're going
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you're going our way and we're at theat theterrain bow moon river city eagle left its home in the city by the bay and now it's coming back right fast get back, get back eagle get back to the city where you belong get back, get back get back to the city where you belong and it's coming back and it's got a long deep thirst head on home and you'll fly like an eagle
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there ♪ >> next speaker, please. okay, change of pace. my name is vivian and i'm a city worker speaking as an individual on my own time. in the case of [speaker not understood], we have witnessed the biggest betrayal of justice in decades of local history. i grew up with my family's painful wisp of memories of life in a fascist regime. i also grew up hearing them say, only in america, as they delighted in their hard-won freedom. now were they here to witness city hall's frightening tactics, they would cry, never in america. never in america should government officials make it their mission to destroy a man. city hall set out to do that by taking away ross's family, home, and income. they inflicted unprecedented punishment for